Second Europe Feb barge SM contract confirmed at €1,267/tonne

LONDON (ICIS)--The second European February styrene barge contract has been settled at €1,267/tonne ($1,736/tonne), up €78/tonne from January, the buyer and seller confirmed on Tuesday.

According to the seller the €78/tonne increase reflected the major part of the benzene increase, and also the current weakness seen for spot styrene levels and the expectations for benzene over the coming weeks.

The seller said that the settlement was a compromise between raw material movements and current supply/demand dynamics, adding that the correction in March would otherwise be significant.

The price was agreed on a free delivered (FD) northwest Europe (NWE) basis.